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Six Places to Find Cover Artists and Designers (Beyond Google or Bing)

You’ve finished your book, decided on self publishing or a small publisher, and are ready to move forward with the final details… but wait. You need a cover and you don’t want your cover to look amateur or novice– either in graphic design or art.

So where do you go to find a good cover designer or artist?

Step one: decide whether you want original art or graphic design. If you don’t know, then start looking at covers you like and figure out what aesthetic you want. When you’re ready to hire an artist, it helps to have a very good idea of what you’re going to want. Not only does it save time and money, it also saves frustration.

1. Instagram
Start with the hashtags: #artistsifinstagram and #graphicdesignersofinstagram but also check out: #bookcover #coverlove and #bookcoverart.

2. Deviant Art
DeviantArt is a great place to find up and coming artists, as well as artistic inspiration for a variety of things.

3. Tumblr
Tumblr is another good resource to find cover or illustration artists. You can gain a good idea of someone’s preferences and art or design style based on what they reblog.

4. ArtStation
This site caters to more high end artists and designers than most indie authors can afford, but it’s worth checking out.

5. Behance
Another site where the artists and designers are more high-end than indie authors can usually afford but you might still find someone here.

6. Word of Mouth
Ask your author friends what cover designers or artists they have used and/or like. If you have artist friends, ask them who they would recommend. [Having artist friends is great, BTW, in case anyone was wondering, every author should have some artist friends.]

Also, look at the covers of your favorite books. If they have been recently published, try to find out if the artist or designer is still in business and if their work fits your budget.

WARNING:
At least Tumblr, DeviantArt, and Instagram all have adult content (I’m not as familiar with ArtStation and Behance but I’d guess they’re also likely to have mature content), so if you are a minor or would prefer not to see that, you are hereby warned.

Personal recommendations:Lauren Richard
Her style ranges from whimsical to futuristic and is clean and beautiful. Also, she’s a great creature artist, so if you’re looking for monsters, paranormal/folklore beings, or fantasy creatures, definitely check her out.

Brian Raty
I would describe his art as ‘fantasy with a strong medieval feel– in the style of Redwall’. His work ranges from game design and art through book covers and illustrations.

Nawan Junhasiri
Fantasy with a flavor of anime is how I would describe this artist’s style. Check out the covers of Erica Laurie’s books on Amazon to see more examples.

Jessica Greyson
A graphic designer who has worked with several indie authors, her covers project a clean and simply pretty vibe.

Bonus:
If you’re looking for fanart of your story- particularly your characters or animals- check out the aforementioned Lauren Richard and Mirriam Neal. Both are fabulous artists with a high commitment to their work.